Mom, boyfriend charged with murder in 1-year-old girl's beating death

Ms. Brandy Boyd, 25, and Mr. Autstin Payne, 24, are accused of the abusing the mom's 1 year-old girl who died in emergency room, police said.

Bartow County Sheriff's Office

Little Journey Ann Cowart was dead at 1-year-old.

And officials said on Monday it was her mother and her mother’s boyfriend who beat the infant to death. The couple have been arrested and remained in the Bartow County jail Tuesday, a day after the sheriff's department announced they were being charged with murder.

“This autopsy uncovered numerous injuries of abuse all over the child,” Sheriff Millsap said. “Some of those injuries included a fractured skull, blunt force trauma to the stomach, and healed broken ribs and femur.”

The investigation began on Jan. 21 when Ms. Boyd and Mr. Payne carried the infant into the Cartersville Medical Center emergency room. She was not breathing.

A short time later a doctor declared her dead after failing to revive her.

Investigators found bruises on the child and searched the family’s Cartersville home that night. Two days later, the GBI’s medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy where they found numerous injuries on the child, officials said.

That Thursday, the couple was arrested and charged with cruelty to children and aggravated battery.

Investigators have now added felony murder to those initial charges after officials ruled that the child had been killed.

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Former police reporter for The State newspaper, Kimathi T. Lewis left her mark in print with stories that evoked community support and a column that helped capture dozens of fugitives. This award-winning reporter with a B.A. in Journalism can be reached at naturekleen@msn.com.